2017 Johnnie Wild Burro Gather

The Bureau of Land Management concluded a wild burro bait and water gather northwest of the town Pahrump on December, 28, 2017. The BLM gathered 117 wild burros. 

Purpose of Gather:

The gather is necessary because the burros are causing public safety issues by crossing Nevada State Route 160 (SR 160) and travelling into the northwest portion of the town of Pahrump. Burros are also travelling through private properties and damaging fencing, water lines and vegetation.

Details of Gather:

UPDATE: The gather has been increased to 125 burros due to additional burros in the residential areas causing public safety issues.

The gather will take place on private land in Pahrump, Nevada. The gather method will consist of bait trapping.  The BLM will gather approximately 75 wild burros during the gather event.  Excess wild burros removed from the range will be transported to the Ridgecrest Regional Wild Horse and Burro Corrals in Ridgecrest, California, where they will be checked by a veterinarian and readied for the BLM’s wild horse and burro adoption program.

Because of the nature of the bait and water gather method, wild burros are reluctant to approach the trap site when there is too much activity.  Therefore, only essential gather operation personnel will be allowed at the trap site during operations. There will be no public observation so as not to disrupt gather operations. 

Background: 

The current population of the Johnnie HMA is approximately 311 burros, well above the 65-108 appropriate management level that water and forage on the range can support along with other uses of the land.

Due to limited forage and, at times, very limited water availability, many burros have been forced to seek resources outside of the HMA. For example, two northern springs, Kwichup and Diebert, have dried up. This has caused the animals to move further south to Grapevine Spring and the northern portion of the town of Pahrump.

Due to the very limited resources and high population level of burros and horses within the Johnnie HMA, these nuisance wild burros would likely return to Pahrump if relocated back onto the HMA or they would further exacerbate the degraded conditions within the over-populated HMA.

For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, call 1-866-468-7826 or email wildhorse@blm.gov.